Madison Genesis team set to fold at end of season

British Continental squad Madison Genesis confirmed on Friday that the team would end at the end of this year. The team had established itself as one of the respected and consistent domestic teams since it was formed in 2012. The likes of Andrew Tennant, Tom Scully, Ian Bibby, Martyn Irvine, Connor Swift and John Dibben have all passed through its ranks.

“It is with a great regret that we are announcing Madison Genesis will cease racing at the end of this season. In this open letter to everyone that has supported us over the last seven years, we want to offer an explanation and use it as an opportunity to show our gratitude to our fans and sponsors that made the dream a reality,” the team announced on Friday.

“Who would have thought back in 2012, that an unknown team could go on to create so many incredible, lasting memories? We started out with a recently retired Roger Hammond at the helm in 2012 and achieved everything we wanted and more. With too many highlights to mention, a nod must be given to winning the Tour Series in 2015 and of course helping Connor Swift to his National Road Race title in July last year.”

The British team currenty have a 13-strong roster after Swift departed for Arkea earlier in the year.

“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved and the team is very personal to me. We created a UK road cycle team brand loved by so many people, with a highly desirable image. We have worked incredibly hard to create a team ethos of good sportsmanship with a high level of fan base engagement which delivered some fantastic results and over the last seven years we helped some talented riders achieve their full potential,” said CEO at Madison and Sportline, Dominic Langan.

“However, the market is constantly evolving and whilst I would be lying if I said we didn’t have frustrations with certain aspects of the UK race scene, I feel, more importantly, that now is the right time to bring the team to an end so we can invest in other market segments which are now showing much more significant growth potential.”

Hammond came back to the team as a director at the start of this season having spent several of the last years at Dimension Data where he directed the likes of Mark Cavendish and Steve Cummings.

“I will always have fond memories of Madison Genesis. Over the last seven years the team has enjoyed an incredible journey that has allowed us to engage with so many people around the world,” Hammond said.

“When the team was built, we set out achieve certain goals and it is with great pride that I can say we achieved those goals and continued to do so each year. It has given me great pleasure to see riders developing with our team, with some of them going to ride the biggest races in the world. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved with or supported the team. It has been a pleasure to have you along for the ride.”

The team will take part in the Tour of Britain later this year, with the flagship race one of their last competitive appointments.